2012 conventions 2012 election 2013 session arts arts and culture author ballot measures basketball bomb books boy scouts budget bullying business charlie hales children clackamas climate change coal college courts crime culture culture club democrats drugs economy education environment family film fluoride food gay rights guns handguns health health care health insurance high school history housing immigration internet kitzhaber law legislature lgbt literary arts living marijuana marriage media medicine mental health military minor parties mohamed mohamud movies music native americans news newspaper obama olympics oregon our town parenting pers photography police politcs politics port portland portland business journal president prevention public safety religion republicans rnc romney rural salem sam adams sandy hook schools science shooting sports suicide supreme court taxes technology television terrorism theater third parties transportation union university of oregon washington wildfire women

This is a common staff behavior generally enabled by antiquated design. Newer psychiatric hospital have staff area open and accessible to patients with the elimination of glass barriers.

posted 3 years, 1 month ago
view in context

Hi Rain,There are various levels of RN from two year associate degree to PhD. Clinical Nurse Specialists in Psychiatric/Mental Health are mental health clinicians.

posted 3 years, 1 month ago
view in context

  Several years ago I was employed as a psychiatric mental health nurse at OSH. There are many highly qualified staff and physicians who have dedicated their time and efforts, and lives, to provide a healing invironment  for the patients at OSH.  Many patients were indeed dangerous and required a highly structured setting while they were recovering from acute phases of their illness, but the majority of patients were cooperative and doing the best they could to participate in their treatment.  This is not very different from the majority of patients I've worked with in other state hospitals.  The specific difference between OSH and the other state hospitals that I'm familiar with was a highly inculcated adherance to punitative responses to negative patient behaviors.  Underlying this was a staff attitude that patients do not deserve to be treated compassionately.  Yet, if you asked staff individually they would agree that patients, in the ideal, should be treated compassionately.  Any overt efforts by individual staff to change the status quo by advocating for positive change would be met with derision, harassment or violence by other staff.  I, myself, not aware of this dysfunctional culture, and attempting to initiate humane treatment change, was injected with a syringe that had just been used only moments before to administer medication to a patient with HIV and hepatitis.  When I subsequently reported this to administration I was placed on the defensive by having to prove the assault happened with the added comment from administration "Oh, that person doesn't even work here anymore."  Other staff have had their lives threatened and in one case was frightened enough not to go onto the unit where they worked, not out of fear from the patients but out of fear of retaliation from specific staff.  I only mention these examples because it illustrates, and I'm confident there have been changes at OSH since I was there, that if retribution could be exacted on coworkers with impunity then what chance have patients, who have the least amount of power in a state hospital system, to avoid retribution.

posted 3 years, 1 month ago
view in context